Evening Prayer: Saturday of Trinity 10 (Proper 19) – 18 August, 2012

Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever. Amen.

PSALMODY

Antiphon: As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,*
so our eyes look to the Lord our God.

Opening (from Psalm 119)
Your faithfulness remains from one generation to another;*
you established the earth, and it abides.
By your decree these continue to this day,*
for all things are your servants.
I will never forget your commandments,*
because by them you give me life.
I see that all things come to an end,*
but your commandment has no bounds.
Glory to the Father…

Psalm 42
As the deer longs for the water-brooks,*
so longs my soul for you, O God.
My soul is athirst for God, athirst for the living God;*
when shall I come to appear before the presence of God?
My tears have been my food day and night,*
while all day long they say to me,
‘Where now is your God?’
I pour out my soul when I think on these things:*
how I went with the multitude and led them into the
house of God,
With the voice of praise and thanksgiving,*
among those who keep holy-day.
Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul?*
and why are you so disquieted within me?
Put your trust in God;*
for I will yet give thanks to him,
who is the help of my countenance, and my God.
My soul is heavy within me;*
therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan,
and from the peak of Mizar among the heights of Hermon.
One deep calls to another in the noise of your cataracts;*
all your rapids and floods have gone over me.
The Lord grants his loving-kindness in the daytime;*
in the night season his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
I will say to the God of my strength,
‘Why have you forgotten me?*
and why do I go so heavily while the enemy
oppresses me?’
While my bones are being broken,*
my enemies mock me to my face;
All day long they mock me*
and say to me, ‘Where now is your God?’
Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul?*
and why are you so disquieted within me?
Put your trust in God;*
for I will yet give thanks to him,
who is the help of my countenance, and my God.
Glory to the Father . . .

Gracious God, in the night of distress we forget the days of sun and joy. Even when we do not know your presence, preserve us from the dark torrent of despair. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Psalm 43
Give judgement for me, O God,
and defend my cause against an ungodly people;*
deliver me from the deceitful and the wicked.
For you are the God of my strength;
why have you put me from you?*
and why do I go so heavily while the enemy
oppresses me?
Send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me,*
and bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling;
That I may go to the altar of God,
to the God of my joy and gladness;*
and on the harp I will give thanks to you, O God my God.
Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul?*
and why are you so disquieted within me?
Put your trust in God;*
for I will yet give thanks to him,
who is the help of my countenance, and my God.
Glory to the Father . . .

God of mercy, deliver those who are weighed down by fear and depression, and give them joy and gladness in your presence. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen

Conclusion (from Revelation 5 and 15)
Great and wonderful are your deeds, Lord God the Almighty;*
just and true are your ways, O King of the ages!
Who shall not revere and praise your name, O Lord?*
for you alone are holy.
All nations shall come and worship in your presence,*
for your just dealings have been revealed.
To God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb*
be praise and honour, glory and might, for ever and ever.Amen.

Antiphon: As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,*
so our eyes look to the Lord our God.

READING

John 5.1-18

After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in HebrewBeth-zatha, which has five porticoes. In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralysed. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?’The sick man answered him, ‘Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Stand up, take your mat and walk.’ At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.

Now that day was a sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, ‘It is the sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.’ But he answered them, ‘The man who made me well said to me, “Take up your mat and walk.” ’ They asked him, ‘Who is the man who said to you, “Take it up and walk”?’ Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had disappeared in the crowd that was there. Later Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, ‘See, you have been made well! Do not sin any more, so that nothing worse happens to you.’ The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. Therefore the Jews started persecuting Jesus, because he was doing such things on the sabbath. But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father is still working, and I also am working.’ For this reason the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because he was not only breaking the sabbath, but was also calling God his own Father, thereby making himself equal to God.

Silence

Response (Psalm 119:89)
V. Lord, your word is everlasting.
R. Lord, your word is everlasting.V. It stands firm in the heavens.
R. Your word is everlasting.V. Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
R. Lord, your word is everlasting.

MAGNIFICAT

Magnificat Antiphon: God has come to the aid of his servant Israel,*
as he promised to Abraham and his children.

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,*
my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour;
for he has looked with favour on his lowly servant;*
from this day all generations will call me blessed.
The Almighty has done great things for me*
and holy is his name.
He has mercy on those who fear him*
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm;*
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones*
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,*
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel,*
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our forebears,*
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory to the Father

Magnificat Antiphon: God has come to the aid of his servant Israel,*
as he promised to Abraham and his children.

PRAYERS

Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Do not bring us to the time of trial,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.

Collects
Almighty God, you sent your Holy Spirit to be the life and light of your Church. Open our hearts to the riches of your grace, that we may bring forth the fruit of the Spirit in love, joy, and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

Lord God almighty, come and dispel the darkness from our hearts, that in the radiance of your brightness we may know you, the only unfading light, glorious in all eternity. Amen.

Let us bless the Lord:
Thanks be to God!

The God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing:
through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.